Lady Marilyn and I watched the first of the six episodes of Faraway Downs on Hulu last night, and just enjoyed the heck out of it. This is Baz Luhrmann’s mega-director’s cut of the 2008 film Australia, and it’s quite a different beast. Faraway Downs has an almost fairytale quality to it — and Frontier Partisan readers know I don’t use that term as … [Read more...] about Tales Of The Drovers

Major Allan Wilson went down in a blaze of Frontier Partisan glory on December 4, 1893, when his Shangani Patrol was wiped out by a Matabele regiment in the forests along the Shangani River, during the First Matabele War in what would become Rhodesia. The Patrol was a flying column detailed to pursue the fleeing Ndebele King Lobengula, whose … [Read more...] about Major Wilson & The Shangani Patrol

I hear tell that “living history” is a much-diminished endeavor these days. That may be true in comparison with the days when Rendezvous was all the rage or when Civil War reenactment was at its height. But there’s some really fine work being done by individuals out there on the frontiers of the interwebs. None better than The Deerskin … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Staying On The Track

For those of you trying to chase down Into The Wild Frontier, Season 2 has recently posted on Youtube. I provided commentary on Episode 4 on Jim Clyman’s epic 600- mile survival trek in which he kept his scalp but lost his hair, and on Episode 6, depicting Kit Carson’s duel with the French bully Choinard. I also provided commentary in Season 4, … [Read more...] about Wild Frontiers

  The latest Tales of the Rangers podcast is up — this one detailing the captivity of John Stark at the hands of the Abenaki in 1752. The tough, young frontiersman was a hunter and trapper who would go on to serve as second-in-command of Rogers Rangers in the French and Indian War. He would later play a pivotal role in the Saratoga Campaign … [Read more...] about The Captivity Of John Stark

Paul McNamee, Captain of the New England Company of Frontier Partisan Rangers, has done committed another authorin’ — a short story in the anthology CONTACT 2: Blood & Steel by Screaming Banshee Press. Let me just go on the record that Screaming Banshee Press is one badass publisher name. Paul’s story ventures into the realm of Fennario at … [Read more...] about Blood & Steel

INSP, the network that brought us Into the Wild Frontier (I provided commentary in Season 2 and the upcoming Season 4) is venturing out onto yet another frontier — the one where history and folklore overlap. (Indian Land, SC – November 14, 2023) – Top 10 cable network INSP, the recognized leader in Western and Western-adjacent programming, … [Read more...] about Folklore & Tall Tales

Good news from the pulp front. The John Benteen’s Fargo: Hell on Wheels crowdfunding campaign hit its goal, which means that early 20th Century soldier of fortune Neal Fargo will stride through the pages of a Howard Chaykin graphic novel. There’s still time to get in on the project at https://zoop.gg/c/fargo. * The great American … [Read more...] about Working the Trapline — Fargo, Brant, Shogun & Triggering A World War

The hinge of fate — to steal Winston Churchill’s wonderful phrase — swung decisively in the summer and fall of 1777. You’d be hard-pressed to name a battle in history that had more consequential strategic implications than the Battle of Saratoga. The bloodying of General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Freeman’s Farm in September, and the decisive … [Read more...] about The Turning Point

November is a good month. Daniel Boone’s birthday fell on November 2. Mine comes ’round on November 6. And, Dropkick Murphys notwithstanding, I will celebrate all month. There’s plenty of gifts to enjoy: Hawken Horse’s Westward Water dropped November 3. I’ve got three of his CDs on permanent rotation in the truck — it’s right in the FP … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — ‘You Ready To Ride?’